When it comes to managing your eCommerce business, you know that you have a lot to keep track of and to make sure that everything is running the way it should.
It is complicated, timeConsuming, and expensive. And it’s not something that can be done overnight.
This is especially the case if you’re running your own business and not a corporation, which means you have to handle everything from product listing and pricing to shipping and receiving.
Fortunately, there are services that can handle the intricacies of running an online business. One such service you can consider working with is an eCommerce management company.
An eCommerce management company can become your partner in running your business by taking care of the day-to-day operations of your online business, from product inventory management to customer service and fulfillment.
That way, you don’t have to keep track of every little detail and can focus on growing your business and meeting your company’s sales and marketing goals.
Think of them as your virtual assistant. While you won’t be able to delegate all the responsibilities of running your business, you can hand over a lot of the tasks that are repetitive, timeConsuming, or just not a good fit for your schedule.
They can help you grow your business faster, manage everything from product ordering to inventory management, and keep everything organized.
In this article, we’ll explore exactly what an eCommerce management company is, the different types you can expect to come across, and their various features, including the pros and cons of working with an eCommerce company.
Let’s dive in.
What is an eCommerce Management Company?
An eCommerce management company is a service that offers a range of services for eCommerce businesses. These companies can handle the day-to-day tasks involved in running your online business, such as inventory management, order processing, and logistics.
They also offer solutions to help you grow your business faster by providing marketing strategies and website design.
Four Key Features of an eCommerce Management Company
Keeping track of inventory and customer interactions is no easy feat for any business. Even for those with strong eCommerce bases and well-established user databases. Most businesses don’t have the time or resources to monitor their inventory and customer interactions themselves.
That’s why eCommerce management companies have sprung up to help small and midsize businesses manage their online business. Let’s take a look at the key features of eCommerce management companies to help you discern the value they can offer your business.
1. Expertise in eCommerce
An eCommerce management company like WebCitz can help your business grow by setting up a strong online presence.
In addition, these companies are experts at creating effective digital marketing campaigns. They know how to monitor inventory and customer interactions, which allows them to create effective systems that keep you on top of the entire retail process.
By hiring a company with this knowledge, you’ll be able to focus on what you do best and let them handle the rest of the work for you.
2. Inventory Management
It’s important to note that an eCommerce management company doesn’t just manage your online inventory; they also assist with the process of managing offline inventory as well.
This helps reduce the risk of delays and unsold inventory by helping you plan ahead so you can purchase more items when demand is high and stock is low.
3: Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management is a crucial part of any eCommerce business.
An eCommerce management company can help you establish a customer database, provide customer service to your contacts effectively, and keep track of customer interactions so you are able to understand what customers want from your products or services.
4. Familiar With Mobile eCommerce
In case you’re not aware, mobile eCommerce is where all the action really is. As such, you need an eCommerce company that has not only the skills but experience as well to provide your customers with the convenience of mobile shopping.
Online shoppers want to access products online from anywhere, at any time and you need to make sure the eCommerce management company you work with has the capacity to make your online store mobile-friendly in various functions such as handling a lot of traffic and displaying product catalogs to provide a great mobile user experience.
Types of eCommerce Management Companies
There are several types of eCommerce management companies that can help you run your business. They include:
1. eCommerce Software Companies
eCommerce software companies are the most common type of eCommerce management company.
These companies offer solutions that help their clients operate their eCommerce stores more efficiently. eCommerce software companies can help you to manage inventory, order and ship products, track sales, and more.
The main difference between an eCommerce software company and a traditional eCommerce management company is that the software company offers its services in one package as opposed to a service for each task performed.
2. eCommerce Marketing Companies
eCommerce marketing companies help small businesses grow their online presence by providing eCommerce consulting, website design services, search engine optimization (SEO), and other digital marketing services.
With an eCommerce marketing company, you can expect all the services that a traditional agency would provide, but without the upfront costs.
This means that you don’t have to worry about signing a long-term service agreement or paying a large fee upfront. This also means that you’re not limited to what they offer. You get to choose your own services and they’ll provide the rest.
Plus, these agencies are experienced in running successful eCommerce campaigns for other businesses. They know what works and what doesn’t for particular businesses like yours and won’t waste your time with ineffective tactics or costly mistakes.
3. eCommerce Dropshipping Companies
As the name implies, eCommerce dropshipping companies offer services that allow you to sell products without having to stock them yourself. You will only need a website and an email list. These companies primarily work with dropshipping wholesalers, who supply your products at wholesale prices and ship them directly to your customers.
Dropshipping companies are particular popular for these reasons:
- There are no inventory costs since you’re not buying or selling products from a warehouse
- You don’t have to advertise for new customers because the company does it for you
- The company does all the marketing for your product, so there are no upfront expenses
- It’s easy to scale up or down in your business because there is no inventory to manage
- Products can be produced quickly and efficiently because of the lack of in-house production staff
- If you want to test out a new company, this can be done seamlessly through the use of their dropshipping supplier network
So, Is Working With an eCommerce Management Company Worth It?
With eCommerce quickly becoming the norm and accounting for an ever-growing share of retail activity, it makes sense that eCommerce is growing so fast. In fact, analysts predict that eCommerce will continue to grow at a rapid pace for the foreseeable future.
In order to tap into this growing market, you might have considered working with an eCommerce management company.
Well, there are a number of advantages to hiring an eCommerce management company. For starters, an eCommerce management company has expertise in running an online business.
This expertise is critical for growing your business online because most businesses don’t have the time or resources necessary to run an effective eCommerce campaign on their own.
They can help you scale your business faster, manage all the day-to-day tasks involved in running an online store, and keep everything organized.
However, there are also some significant drawbacks to working with an eCommerce management company.
Perhaps the main disadvantage to working with an eCommerce management company is that it can be expensive compared to other options.
While not as expensive as hiring a full-time employee, it’s still more expensive than outsourcing your work or using self-serve software tools.
It can also be difficult finding the right match with an eCommerce management company because they don’t have direct contact with you or your customers.
And finally, if you ever need help or have questions, you’ll need to contact their customer service team which is often outsourced overseas and will take days before getting a response which may be too late in important situations.
Final Words: Finding the Right eCommerce Management Company for Your Business
eCommerce is the future of business, and it’s changing how we shop. In the past few years, the number of online shoppers has grown almost 25 percent, and that number is only going to increase. If your business doesn’t have a website, you’re probably missing out on an opportunity to sell your products and services to the world.
That’s why it’s so important to get a handle on eCommerce management. The key is to find the right eCommerce management company that is the right fit for your business.
Note that when you decide to work with an eCommerce management company, you are trusting a third party to manage your business. This means that your personal and business information will be in the hands of someone else so try and work with a reputable eCommerce management company that takes data privacy seriously and follows best practices for secure data storage and protection.
Remember, your success as an entrepreneur is dependent on the strength of your brand. With the right eCommerce management company behind you, you can focus on building your brand while letting them take care of the tasks involved in running a successful online business.
Read Also:
- Brand Marketing in Ecommerce
- What You Need To Start An Ecommerce Website
- 6 Tips and Tricks to Boost Your eCommerce Customer Experience
- Does Your eCommerce Site Need a Major Overhaul? Tips to Help You Form a Plan
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